Chess vs Chess Premium
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
Enjoy a classic chess experience on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This app offers a clean interface, beautiful graphics, and intuitive gameplay perfect for casual players. Play against a computer opponent, review game history, and track your progress.
- 1- or 2-player games on one device
- Tap-to-move piece selection
- Highlights legal moves
- Full game history and move list
- Built-in chess clock
- Get hint feature
- Undo moves
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tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player! This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play. (tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.) tChess Lite Features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required) - Tap-tap to move pieces - Highlights legal moves - View full game history in the Move List - Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games - Built-in chess clock - "Get hint" feature to improve your game - Easy to undo moves - Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200 - Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players - Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress - Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.
Chess Premium
Enjoy a classic chess experience without ads or internet. Play against a challenging AI with adjustable difficulty or a friend offline. Features stunning visuals, instant auto-saves, and undo support for uninterrupted gameplay.
- No ads or internet required
- Adjustable AI difficulty levels
- Offline two-player mode
- Stunning Retina display visuals
- Instant auto-save
- Undo support and score tracking
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Chess Premium — The Chess Game Your iPhone Deserves No ads. No internet required. Just chess, beautifully designed for your iPhone and iPad. Whether you're picking up chess for the first time or looking for a worthy opponent at 2am, Chess Premium delivers. Play against a sophisticated AI with adjustable difficulty — from patient teacher to ruthless opponent — or hand the phone to a friend for a classic two-player match. What makes it Premium: • Stunning visuals built for Retina displays — not ported from another era • AI engine that actually challenges you, with difficulty levels that grow with your game • Offline play, always available — no Wi-Fi, no account, no nonsense • Auto-saves instantly when you take a call or switch apps • Undo support, configurable player names, and full score tracking No subscriptions. No ads. Buy once, play forever. Download Chess Premium and play your first game in seconds. ———— Love classic games? Optime makes a full suite of board and card games — including Backgammon Pro, Checkers Premium, and Sudoku. Search ""Optime Software"" to see them all.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess at $0.99 against Chess Premium's $9.99. Chess Premium's advantage is ratings volume (5.4K vs 78) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Chess costs $0.99 and Chess Premium $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.7 for Chess Premium. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Premium has 5.4K ratings behind it against 78, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 80% of Chess Premium's.
Chess ships an update every 5 months, Chess Premium every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Chess | Chess Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (78 ratings) | 4.7 (5.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.1% of reviews — better | 80.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 78 | 5.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #41 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Kerrigan | Optime Software LLC |
Customer experience
Chess
Chess Premium
User reviews
Chess
From 78 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 💡 Helpful hints and features
- 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
- 🧠 Challenging AI opponent
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Limited difficulty levels
- 🤖 AI can be predictable at times
- 💤 Lack of online/multiplayer options
Chess Premium
From 5.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for practicing chess
- 🚀 Fast gameplay
- 💡 Adjustable difficulty levels
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 👍 No ads in premium version
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Issues with detecting checkmate
- 🐛 Pawns moving incorrectly
- 🐛 Pieces disappearing from the board
- 🐛 Slow performance in premium version
Bugs and requests
Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent pawn movement rules
- Stalemate issues and computer refusing to resign
- Connectivity problems with Game Center
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to set up custom board positions
- More difficulty levels and ELO ratings
- Online/multiplayer functionality
- Notification options for opponent moves
- Chess puzzle/training mode
Chess Premium
Reported bugs
5 issues- Incorrect checkmate detection
- Pawns moving in illegal ways
- Pieces randomly disappearing
- Slow performance after upgrade
- Ads still showing after purchase
Requested features
6 requests- Option to turn off stalemate
- Ability to save and load games
- Notation or move history display
- More board and piece theme options
- Tutorials or strategic tips
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- Ability to play against friends
In-app purchases
Chess
No in-app purchases
Chess Premium
No in-app purchases








